Higher Education: State Funding Trends and Policies on Affordability - State funding for all public colleges decreased by 12 percent from fiscal year 2003 to 2012 while tuition rose 55 percent. Federal support for higher education is primarily aimed at funding student financial aid rather than at programs involving states. Several potential approaches the federal government could take to expand state incentives to improve affordability: creating new grants, providing more information on affordability or changing federal student aid programs. (GAO, December 2014)...

Trends in College Spending: 2001-2011 - By 2011, the precipitous decline in state revenues per student at public colleges and universities had eased; average revenues per student were steady or increasing. Spending declines also stabilized, but four-year institutions continued to invest in noninstructional student services, sometimes at the expense of instructional spending. Community colleges continued to show the greatest financial strain. Students paid an ever-larger share of the costs, but degree productivity began to rise again in 2011. (Donna M. Desrochers and Steven Hurlburt, American Institutes for Research, July 2014)...